Description of Study
The Willowbrook Hepatitis study took place at the Willowbrook State School. The school was located in Staten Island, New York. Mentally disabled children were residents of the school. The study began in 1955 and continued over 15 years (Hardicre, 2014). Dr. Saul Krugman and some of his coworkers were the ones conducting the study. They were from the New York University School of Medicine. According to the study, hepatitis was very high in numbers with Willowbrook’s patients and staff. Dr. Krugman believed most contracted hepatitis during the first year of being at the school (“Willowbrook Hepatitis Experiment,” 2009). At the time, they knew young children showed a minimal response to hepatitis. If a child had been infected, that child would be protected against the more acute forms of hepatitis. The use of gamma globulin antibodies was of interest to Dr. Krugman. He wanted to use them to create immunity (“Willowbrook Hepatitis Experiment,” 2009). Krugman thought if the children had hepatitis, he could inject antibodies that were produced to fight against the foreign matter, and it would protect them again a more severe case. The quantitative research of The Willowbrook Hepatitis study included over 700 children. The study included two different categories. In the first category, there were two groups. The children in the first group were current patients of Willowbrook. This was the control group. They did not receive any antibodies. The second group was the experimental group. The children received injections of antibodies (“Willowbrook Hepatitis Experiment,” 2009). In the second category, the experimental group was children that had just been admitted to Willowbrook. They were given protective antibodies and purposely infected with hepatitis. The control group consisted of newly admitted children that were not infected intentionally by hepatitis (Ward and Krugman, 1958, pg. 1016). The children in the experimental group had a moderate reaction from being deliberately injected with the virus. The children in the control group that became sick with the virus (naturally) had much worse symptoms (“Willowbrook Hepatitis Experiment,” 2009). The parents gave researchers permission to perform the study. The parents of the children that were newly admitted were able to see the facility, meet the researchers, and consult with their person doctor. After an allocated amount of time to make a decision, the researchers asked for the parents’ consent (“Willowbrook Hepatitis Experiment,” 2009). The researchers were able to identify two different types of hepatitis that present in children at Willowbrook (Hepatitis A and Hepatitis B). Hepatitis B is harder to contract. It is transmitted through blood and sexual contact. It has more severe symptoms. It can lead to long- term chronic infection. The children that were infected with hepatitis A had more moderate symptoms like swollen liver, yellowing of the skin and eyes, vomit and not eating (for a few days). The protective antibodies were able to protect the children from hepatitis A virus. The research helped reduce the number of children and employees infected by hepatitis by 80 to 85 percent. They received better care (“Willowbrook Hepatitis Experiment,” 2009). Group 3 Spring 2017